You Always Came Through
by TheIrishShipperholic
Summary: April and Matt each remember the good times with Jeremy – and mourn the loss of a great guy.


**Title:** You Always Came Through  
**Authors:** Katie  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but this story.  
**Show/Movie/Book:** The Vampire Diaries  
**Pairings/Couples:** None, but mentions of April/Jeremy and Matt/Jeremy relationships  
**Rating:** T, but will change to M in Part 2  
**Summary:** April and Matt each remember the good times with Jeremy – and mourn the loss of a great guy.  
**Authors' Notes:** I decided to write this after watching Jeremy die on screen and was inspired for sure after remembering the phone call April made to Elena. ENJOY!

**April's POV**  
The dial tone sounded in my ear and I brought the phone down away from it, the screen blinking several times before finally going black. _Jeremy…dead_, resounded in my head over and over again until I couldn't take it anymore. Placing my cell phone down in the middle of the coffee table, I quickly let my gaze roam around the room to look for some kind of sharp object, finally landing on the book end that sat on the mantle of the fireplace. I stood up and grasped it in my hands and was about to bring it down to smash my phone to bits & pieces when I felt another set of fingers close over mine. I looked up, and saw through my tear-blurred vision that Matt Donovan had unsuspectingly snuck into my house. "Let go, Matt," I demanded but he shook his head no.

Angrily, I tore my hands away then moved to the other side of the room. I reached for the lamp and Matt set the book end on the low coffee table and rushed over to take it away as well. "Damn it, April, don't make me do this!" he demanded in an angry tone as he pinned my arms behind my back.

"Why did he have to die? Why did they have to die?" I choked out between sobs, finally crumbling against him for support. I felt his hands stroking my hair and my back as I began to calm myself down. Once my tears had dried, I pulled back out of his comforting embrace then pointed to the stain I'd left behind but he only shrugged it off. "I ruined your shirt, Matt; at least let me get you another one."

**Matt's POV**  
I wasn't really worried about my shirt at the moment but she obviously wasn't going to take no for an answer as I watched her stomp off down the hall, and into what I could only assume was the master bedroom. While she was gone, I stripped out of the shirt I'd worn before I inspected the stain she'd left on it from her tears. I paused when I heard the muffled sobs that came from behind the door she'd left partially open and I moved down the hallway, closer to the door of what must have been her parents' bedroom. "April, hey, it's okay," I said in a soft murmur as I took her into my arms, and although she attempted to lash out at me, I thought quickly and locked her arms against her back, effectively pinning them into place. I looked down into her eyes and saw that the fury was beginning to dissipate and I smiled warmly down at her. "Do you remember the Homecoming dance back in January?" I asked softly. "Jeremy took it upon himself to have you nominated onto the queen's court, and I remember watching him stuff the ballot box with all the ones with your name marked on them." I looked again to see that a smile was fighting its way onto her face and I keep one hand locking her arms in place while the other came up and gently poked at the dimple in her cheek.

My goal had been to make her smile and I had been successful at it. "And when I didn't win, he still thought we should celebrate, because he felt that I had made a better queen," she said. She glanced around the room before her eyes landed on the photo frame that sat on the dresser. I followed her gaze to the photo, smiling as the memory of when it had been taken flashing immediately into my mind:

_**One Month Earlier – Mystic Grill**  
I tried not to groan at the sight of her in THAT dress, but it was certainly not relaying the message to a certain part of my body that seemed to scream at me, **Take her NOW!** But I ignored it as she came closer to smile at me. "Hi. Jeremy asked me to retrieve you because he wants to take a picture with both of us," she explained and I nodded before following her over to where Jeremy stood with his sister Elena and Bonnie Bennett. Elena held a camera in her delicate but strong hands and smiled as April settled in between me and Jeremy. We were both in position on either side of her when our eyes met and we nodded before leaning down to place our lips onto either side of her face and **SNAP!** The photo was taken._

**Present Day – No POV**  
Their eyes met once the memory had faded away completely and Matt couldn't stop himself from leaning down to brush his lips over April's in a fleeting caress before stepping away. Then she did something totally unexpected; Matt could feel his temperature begin to rise as he watched her arms cross down by her sides to lift her blouse over her head but he stepped right up to her, his mouth claiming hers in a kiss that demanded a response and she complied, walking backward until the backs of her knees hit the bed. Once they were both settled onto the mattress, Matt took his time kissing her, his tongue probing gently against the outer seam of her lips and gaining access seconds later, smothering her gasp of shock with his soft, sensual kisses. April was almost positive he could have been attempting to snatch her very soul and she broke the kiss off, breathless giggles escaping her lips. "What is so funny?" he asked as the stubble on the lower half of his face tickled her sensitive skin while his lips, teeth and tongue explored, nipped and licked, soothed over her jaw before going lower, into the column of her glorious neck.

"I think Jeremy brought us together but neither of us realized it until tonight," she said in a breathless response, finally framing his face in her delicate but strong hands so she could look into his eyes. "And it made me realize that you are the only guy I want to be with." He grinned down at her when she said that, knowing she meant it with everything in her, nodding before claiming her mouth once more, rolling her over then brought his hands down her arms until he had linked their fingers together & brought her hands up over her head. Locking them in place, Matt used his free hand to raise the hem of her silk blouse, his fingers exploring the firm, taut flesh of her flat stomach before inching higher until the material was bunched up underneath her breasts.

Matt let her hands go then helped her sit up, her arms lifting so he could pull her blouse up and over her head, her eyes watching as he got up from the bed to toss the silk blouse into the laundry hamper before rejoining her, his hands moving up her denim-clad thighs and stopping at the waist of her jeans. April sucked in her breath as she settled back onto the covers on her back, the cool air from the air conditioning unit kicking on and not doing a damn thing to cool down her heated skin. Matt took that as his permission to peel away her skin-tight jeans, his hands gentle as they followed the path that her pants took and his mouth following immediately after that. April panted and trembled at what he was doing and, pulling him up by his shoulders, crushed her lips to his. Matt took the hint, moaning as their tongues collided and his chest brushed hers. He lowered his body until all that separated them was his jeans & boxers and her underwear. Not willing to wait any longer, Matt rolled away and April assisted him in removing his jeans. Her strong, delicate hands attacked the button and zipper and he remembered to grab the condom from the wallet in his back pocket, rolling it over his erection once his boxers were gone. Hooking his fingers in the waistband of her underwear, Matt lowered them down her legs, past her feet and tossed them in the same direction as her earlier discarded blouse then nestled himself between her legs. "I'll try to go slow, okay?" he whispered and she nodded in response, her arms settling around the width of his shoulders. With a gentle thrust, Matt broke the barrier and he stopped there so she could adjust to his size, and when she signaled the okay with a brief nod, Matt began thrusting in a slow, steady pace, groaning his approval in the crook of her neck and shoulder when her legs locked tightly around his waist, forcing him to go deeper. Keeping a steady pace, Matt pulled out of her then thrust back into her, the bed rocking beneath their combined weight as he established a rhythm. His fingers wound themselves into the silky curls of her hair as he connected their lips, his tongue colliding with hers and moaned as soon as that happened, his pace speeding up until neither of them knew where he ended or she began.

April could feel herself moving closer to the edge and squeezed the muscles of his upper arms, her voice barely recognizable as she said, "Matt, I…I'm so…close!" He nodded and moved one of his hands to the bundle of nerves, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger, grunting as he thrust two, three more times before throwing his head back and let out a strangled warrior's cry as he fell over the edge immediately after her, finally emptying himself into her and collapsing most of his weight onto her but keeping most of it on his elbows above her.

Finally, Matt pulled out of her and rolled onto his back, grabbing the sheet from beneath their sweaty bodies and pulling it over them, tucking it gently beneath her arms. She cuddled into his chest and he shifted her until he could wrap his arm around her bare back, his fingertips stroking her arm in a back and forth caress as his lips bestowed a tender kiss to her forehead, his eyes drifting to the picture on top of the dresser. "You are missed, buddy, and you will be remembered," he said softly. April heard his soft-spoken words and reached down to pick up his hand, caressing it with her fingertips before kissing the knuckles, and Matt returned the favor. He felt April's body begin to ease into slumber and reached over to turn the knob on the lamp, placing the room into semi-darkness with the moon shining through the window.

**Author's Note 2:** Well, I hope y'all enjoyed this little one-shot and plan to come back for the sequel I am going to have up once I complete "Angels in a Centerfold" and finish Chapter 7 of "Matchmaker, Matchmaker".


End file.
